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09 January 2014

They have a little Odor — that to me

They have a little Odor — that to meIs metre — nay — 'tis Poesy — And spiciest at fading — celebrate — A Habit — of a Laureate — F505 (1863) J785The laurel leaf wreath is said to have originated with Apollo. Having been maddened by love for Daphne after Eros wounded him with an arrow, Apollo chased her until she panicked and begged her father (river god Ladonas) to be transformed. Ladonas changed her into a bay laurel seconds before her capture. Apollo was reportedly so struck by the tree's beauty that he adopted the tree and decreed that its leaves would honor the best Greek poets and statesmen. The tradition has continued as great poets and other scholars have been awarded the laurel wreath. Dante, for example, is typically pictured with one. Closer to Dickinson, Mt. Holyoke College graduates have traditionally worn laurel wreaths or carried laurel chains. In fact, the word "baccalaureate" refers to laurel berries.

Frederick Sandys: portrait of his daughter as poetic muse with laurel wreath

I provide all this background as justification for thinking this poem is about the bay laurel. Dickinson was a highly-regarded gardener and cook. No doubt laurel leaves, perhaps from her own garden, were a staple in her kitchen pantry. I picture her smelling their spicy aroma and thinking about two poet laureates whose poetry she enjoyed: William Wordsworth, who died in 1850; and Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who died in 1892. The fragrant leaves take on a bit of poetry to her – indeed have their own meter. They become more fragrant as they dry and wither. It is this last quality that links them to the poet laureates whose last poems may be best loved. Wouldn't we all like to be "spiciest at fading"? In keeping with the classical theme, Dickinson uses a stately iambic pentameter alternating with iambic tetrameter. "Habit" enriches the last line with its double meaning of "custom" or "routine" as well as "dress."

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Poem F 1038

Great Nature not to disappointAwaiting Her that Day —To be a Flower, is profoundResponsibility —

The Dickinson Blog Project

I plan to read and comment on all of Emily Dickinson's 1789 poems in chronological order. Scroll down to see earlier poems, or else browse the Archives. You can also use the Search function (below the Header). I think this is going to be a wonderful adventure!

I'm using R.W. Franklin's Reading Edition of the collected poems. I title the poems by the first line and at the end of the poem identify its Franklin number (e.g., F220) followed by the date Franklin assigns, and then by the numbers assigned by Thomas H. Johnson.